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1. Grosjean
I know this is surprising. I haven't forgotten his mediocre first part of the season, but look at what a progress he made compared to last year. And in the second half of the year, I rate him clearly as the best driver. Grosjean was the only one who consistently challenged Vettel, and that in a Lotus! He was able to challenge Vettel, who had a superior car perfectly matching his driving style.
2. Vettel
I admit, winning nine races in a row is impressive. But doing so in a Red Bull? Not so. He easily had the best car, and Webber seemed increasingly unmotivated. So he didn't really have any opposition in the second half of the year. With more reliable cars, drivers like Mansell in 1992 or Schumacher in 2002/2004 could easily have done the same things Vettel did this year.
But still, I must say that I'm impressed with his performance, especially in Singapore. And although he had the best car, I think he deserves his titles. Success in Formula 1 is always a combination of the driver and the team.
I appreciate that Vettel has done extremely well this year, but I don't think he is as extraordinary as Red Bulls PR department wants us to believe.
3. Hülkenberg
Apart from Grosjean, Hülkenberg was the positive surprise of the year. His drive at Korea was extraordinary, probably one of the most memorable moments of a rather boring season. But overall, he had a great second half of the season. He definitely deserves a seat at a top team. I hope for him that the Force India turns out to be a good car for 2014.
4. Alonso
He did well this year, but not as well as in 2013. He often outpperformed his car. But towards the end of the year, I had the impression that he became more and more frustrated with the inability of Ferrari to keep up with Red Bull or even Mercedes.
5. Hamilton
When he announced his move to Mercedes, I thought he had made a big mistake. As it turned out, he had not. For the first time, the Mercedes was competetive in the race too. Hamilton had some great races, most notably winning at Hungaroring.
6. Räikkönen
After his win at the opening race, he did some good races, but nothing special. Still a good year for him.
7. Rosberg
I always thought Rosberg was a bit underrated. 2013 confirmed that, as he was able to keep up with Hamilton.
8. Bianchi
He joined the team as a last-minute replacement for Luis Razia, but from the first pracitce, he was competetive. He secured 10th place in the championship for his team, and consitently outperformed Chilton (who, I think, is not as bad as many people say.)
9. Ricciardo
He was the better of the Toro Rosso drivers. Especially in qualifying, he sometimes impressed me. But does he deserve the promotion to Red Bull? I don't think so, especially when there are so many other midfield drivers around, who did better. But Red Bull had to prove that their junior program makes sense, and I think that is one reason why they promoted Ricciardo.
10. Bottas
He consitently beat Maldonado. And Maldonado is a race winner after all. Maldonado seemed to lose his motivation in the dreadfully slow Williams. Bottas didn't, and was rewarded with an 8th place after a great drive at Austin.
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